Senior Staff Scientist Thomas Humphrey invents a simple experiment to see if the Giant Mirror is spherical or parabolic, and then to see if it's perfectly spherical. By placing a Styrofoam ball at the center of curvature, he's able to prove that the mirror is out of pure sphericity by about one-quarter of one degree.

A detailed demonstration of how to do the Ice Balloons activity, including a discussion of materials needed and strategies for getting learners to ask and then investigate questions about what they are seeing.

The science and pedagogy behind this activity, including a discussion of concepts such as density, temperature, thermal conductivity, center of mass, freezing point depression, heat capacity, and the characteristics of the states of water, water vapor, and ice. Also describes strategies for observing, asking questions, and then choosing a question to investigate further.

Preview the Exploratorium's Mind exhibit, an exhibit collection four years in the making.

In Mind, you are the exhibit. Experience your own thoughts, feelings and
actions in provocative and unexpected ways in this major new
5000-square-foot collection. Discover insights into how you make decisions,
the kinds of things you do (or donít) pay attention to, and the changing
landscapes and intriguing effects of your own emotions. Mind is made
possible with the support of the National Science Foundation.

Aeolian Landscape is an exhibit in which a miniature wind-swept desert landscape is recreated by an electric fan and finely ground sand that mimics the process of wind picking up and depositing small particles. Visitors can change the direction of the fan, influencing the shape of the dunes.

At the Balancing Ball exhibit, a plastic beach ball floats mysteriously several feet above a large plastic cone. Upon closer inspection, the ball is found to be floating on a stream of air blowing out of the cone; visitors interact with the ball, changing its position in relation to the air flow.

Webcasts made possible through
the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The Jim Clark
Endowment for Internet Education, the McBean Family Foundation,.and the Corporation for Educational Networks Initiatives in California (CENIC).